One of the few Dallas Cowboys who stood in protest of the national anthem, has been cut by the organization.
The Cowboys released Damontre Moore in order to make room to sign kicker Mike Nugent, the team announced Wednesday. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has publicly stated he believes all players should stand for the anthem, issuing a statement that any protesters on his team would be disciplined. Jones is also on record stating that he believes anthem protest are hurting the NFL.
While no Cowboys player has kneeled or sat during the anthem, Moore was one of two players who continued to raise his fist at the conclusion of the national anthem in recent weeks after Jones previously talked to players and explained his feelings on the matter.
After Jones’ proclamation, Moore (who plays defensive end) continued to protest during the national anthem, placing his fist over his heart during the song, and raising it after. Moore was joined in doing so by only one of his teammates, defensive tackle David Irving.
“It’s just something that I do,” Moore said, according to the Washington Post. “I’ve got my morals. I’ve got my values and my things that I think about. I don’t want to cause no attention to nobody else and bring unwanted attention, but on the same token, you know, there’s certain things that people are doing it for.”
Jason Garrett said the issue of cutting Moore was strictly a football decision.
“We had to make a roster move and we just felt like the best decision for our team was to release Damontre Moore,” Garrett told reporters, per Pro Football Talk.
With Moore released, Irving is the lone Cowboy distributing any form of protest during the national anthem.
Though the official reason for the release is connected to the business of football, the timing looks awful and positions the Cowboys’ administration and management as the epitome of petty.
